There’s so much happening at Australian Open 2026. It can be tough to keep up!
MORE: All the scores from Day 1 at AO 2026
That’s why we’re rounding up the best, wildest and most talked-about moments every day of AO 2026, all in one place, bite-sized and easy to catch up on … so you never miss a moment!
Best shot: Maria Sakkari
We might have already seen the shot of the tournament on Day 1.
A slice so good, even Maria Sakkari looked stunned. When Leolia Jeanjean’s serve spun wide, Sakkari raced forward and chopped the ball around the net post, landing it softly with just the right amount of backspin.
“I've been playing for 25 years. I could never imagine I can hit that kind of return,” she said.
“You see when Roger [Federer] hits it, Carlos [Alcaraz], and then myself. I'm like ‘ah!’ … I’m pretty sure it’s going to make one of the best shots of the tournament.”
We think that’s safe to say, Maria!
Best quote: Jasmine Paolini
A smile goes a long way in tennis.
That was Jasmine Paolini’s lesson after waking up on the wrong side of the bed on Sunday with a case of the first-round Grand Slam nerves.
"Today in the morning, it was a tough day. I said to myself, ‘you haven’t smiled once since you got up. Smile a little bit because if not, you step on court and you play bad’. For me, it’s important to enjoy my tennis, enjoy being on court, so sometimes I force myself to smile more.”
Paolini surged into the second round with a 6-1 6-2 win over Aliaksandra Sasnovich in just over an hour.
Best investment: Arthur Fery’s mum
Arthur Fery’s mother called him after the world No.185 had made it through qualifying, saying she wanted to fly all the way down to watch his Australian Open debut. Facing world No.22 Flavio Cobolli, Fery appreciated the support, but worried she might be making a long trip for little tennis.
Then the Brit produced the first big shock of Australian Open 2026, stunning Cobolli in straight sets.
“It's obviously a long way, but at least I made it worth it. She can see at least two matches – hopefully more,” he said after the win.
Ranked No.185, Fery now faces No.62 Tomas Martin Etcheverry in the second round.
Best story: Zeynep Sönmez
Qualifier Zeynep Sönmez made history, becoming the first Turkish player to reach the AO 2026 second round with a 7-5 4-6 6-4 upset over 11th seed Ekaterina Alexandrova.
Trailing 1-3 in the decider, Sönmez produced a stunning rally that swung the match, later leaving 1573 Arena to a standing ovation, draped in a Turkish flag.
Having raced through qualifying without dropping a set, the world No.112 will go into her second-round match as the favourite when she faces the winner of Monday’s clash between Anna Bonda and Elizabeth Mandlik.
Best Moutet: Match Point Underarm Serve
Given the sheer magnitude of magic moments he produces on court, we see it fit to give Corentin Moutet his own category.
In Round 1, he faced Australia’s Tristan Schoolkate in front of a fiery home crowd – a daunting task for most, but not for the Frenchman …
How Moutet will dazzle against qualifier Michael Zheng in the second round is anyone’s guess. All we know is that we’ll be watching.
Best stat: Tiebreaks upon tiebreaks upon tiebreaks
In her Australian Open main draw debut, Elsa Jacquemot edged world No.20 Marta Kostyuk 6-7(4) 7-6(4) 7-6(7) in a three-hour, 31-minute marathon.
Jacquemot’s triumph was historic, marking the first women’s singles match at Melbourne Park where all three sets were decided by tiebreaks since final-set tiebreaks were introduced in 2019.